Michael McAleer answers your queries
From Samuel McWilliams:
Having spent another dismal morning at the Red Cow Roundabout, I'm wondering if the Government is ever going to get this situation sorted.
I've read reports of promises of flyovers, free-flowing traffic and smooth-running junctions, but I'm far too old to believe the hot air from politicians.
As the interminable Port Tunnel works drag on, is there any light at the end of this particular tunnel?
The Government's line of defence is that work on upgrading the Red Cow interchange will start in spring 2005 and be completed by spring 2007. In an answer to a Dáil question last week, the Minister for Transport said: "In the meantime, the Railway Procurement Agency, the RPA, and the Dublin Transportation Office, the DTO, are satisfied that Luas, despite current unsatisfactory traffic conditions at the Red Cow junction, will be able to operate satisfactorily using existing traffic signal sequences. The trams are driven in much the same way as a car or a bus in that tram drivers yield to other traffic if they are confronted with a red light."
Whether or not you share his optimism of short-term traffic flows, your reference to the Port Tunnel does bear some consideration.
Regardless of the chaos predicted when Luas gets on the track, the completion of the Port Tunnel in early 2005 will send the vast majority of the port's traffic onto the M50.
Good news for the city centre certainly, but not so good for those stuck on the two-lane M50 who will then have to face long lines of trucks in the inside lane, thereby converting our capital's major ring-road into a one-lane carriageway for the most part.
In fairness, the Government does seem to recognise the problem now and has committed itself to widening the M50 in the medium to long term. But the question remains of previous administrations: where did they propose putting the Port Tunnel truck traffic when it reached the M50? It seems that the current administration is having to deal with a complete vacuum of sequential planning over the past decades.
From Tom Rooney:
I've received two penalty points for exceeding the speed limit at Newlands Cross. The offence took place on July 22nd 2003 and I got the fine in November which I duly paid.
I've now been notified by the Department of Transport that these points will remain on my licence for three years from February 9th 2007 which is over three years and six months since the offence took place. Any thoughts?
It seems that the law does not apply from the date of the offence but from 28 days after notice has been served. At least that's the rules as stated in the Road Traffic Bill 2002 which deals with penalty points offences.
According to a spokesperson from the Department of Transport, the current system is suffering from its manual nature and should be a lot more efficient once the computerised system is working later this year.
However, even with the computer system, the points will apply only after all proceedings have been taken.
That would seem to be yet another deterrent for motorists considering legal challenges to their points.
However, in time it may prove the sort of technicality which will allow those who otherwise face a driving ban to procrastinate until their previous points go out of date.
From Kate Q:
I've inherited a house in Co Dublin, but my relative had a bad habit of keeping old cars in the back yard. Three old bangers are rusting away there - a complete eyesore. How can I get rid of them?
At the moment, the only way to legally dispose of these vehicles - unless you can sell them to a scrapyard or garage - is to get your local authority to take them away. Unfortunately, in most areas there's a charge.
In Dun Laoghaire, for example, the charge is €50 per car. However, we have come across much higher charges in rural areas.
In the long term, there are plans for something called a producer responsibility initiative, PRI, in line with a EU directive on ELVs, (end-of-life vehicles). The plan is for car firms to set up a not-for-profit company to operate an ELV recovery scheme to be subsidised through a fund generated by a levy on imported new and used vehicles.
However, there's been a failure to agree on the levy and, in the meantime, Ireland is to be prosecuted by the EU Commission in the European Court of Justice for failing to implement the directive. This should add some impetus to efforts to get the scheme going by the 2007 deadline.
• Send your queries to
Motors Help Desk, The Irish Times, Fleet Street, Dublin 2 - or e-mail them to motorshelp@irish-times.ie